Dr. Hanan Ashrawi: “Israeli Actions Threaten to make Occupation Irreversible”

“Forty-five years after the beginning of occupation, Israel continues to deliberately violate international law through policies that undermine and threaten to annul the prospect of a two-state solution”, said Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Committee. The senior official made the statement commemorating Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian Territory in June 1967.

She continued, “The world must examine the legacy of Israel’s occupation; one of impunity and egregious violations of international law. As an occupying Power, Israel has violated its clear obligations under the fourth Geneva Convention and other related Covenants. It has also undermined and violated previously signed agreements with the Palestinian side. This legacy has entrenched the occupation, indeed threatening to make it irreversible.”

Dr. Ashrawi said that settlement expansion and illegal measures in occupied East Jerusalem expose Israel’s permanent colonization agenda.

“Extremist policies adopted by the Israeli government and legislated by the Knesset convey a very ominous message. Instead of investing in peace, Israel is investing further in occupation through settlement construction, home demolitions, and displacement of thousands of Palestinians. These measures provide a clear indicator that Israel does not support the two-state solution”, said Dr. Ashrawi.

According to recent international reports, Israeli settlement expansion accelerated rapidly last year and a record number of Palestinians were displaced as a result of home demolitions. Over half a million Israeli settlers now live illegally in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), who, together with the associated infrastructure built for the settlements and the land-grabbing wall, de facto expropriate 46% of the West Bank.

“Israel is actively encouraging its people to become stakeholders in the occupation, thus promoting a fraudulent national narrative which is not conducive to peace.” Dr. Ashrawi pointed to the significant economic incentives provided by Israel for its population to live on occupied land, including a recent proposed law awarding tax breaks to those who donate money towards illegal Israeli settlement activities. 

Dr. Ashrawi went on, “Twenty four years ago, the Palestinians made a difficult and historic compromise in accepting a state within the 1967 borders; a mere 22% of historic Palestine. Meanwhile, Israel has been allowed to enjoy a culture of impunity that now threatens the applicability of the two-state solution”.

She concluded, “The international community has a legal and moral responsibility to protect its longstanding investment in peace by holding Israel accountable for its countless breaches of international law. The Palestinian people’s realization of their inalienable right to self-determination is a requirement to peace in the region. The need to assume this responsibility has never been more urgent.”